George Matulaitis Journal

have Father Zienkiewicz remain in charge. He accused both Father To = oczko and Father Zienkiewicz of advocating class struggle and of contaminating the purity of the Catholic Faith. I called in Fathers To = oczko, Zienkiewicz, and Ta kunas, 1 who lives there as well, and discovered that these accusations were untrue. It is a political matter. The “endeks” are afraid of losing control of the organization, and that is why they are making such a fuss. The former executive committee then presented its demands in writing. Evidently, Father Zienkiewicz had been elected committee chairman. I do not know what nationality he regards himself. Father Songin told me that he considers himself Polish. My own impression of Father Zienkiewicz is that he is a Catholic priest without chauvinistic leanings. He intentionally does not ally himself with any nationality. His views on social matters are rather progressive. He is a decent and ascetic priest. This conflict was reflected in the press. The teachers, parents, children, and workers at the institution supported Father Zienkiewicz. His opponents did not dare go inside to insult him there. I decided not to interfere in the quarrel although the former director keep pressing me to dismiss Father Zienkienwicz, since they could not regain control otherwise. I told them: “You have your own bylaws and can settle your affairs and disputes accordingly. I have neither the right nor the reason to get involved in the internal affairs of your association.” However, I could see that they were attacking Father Zienkiewicz unjustly, simply because he did not belong to their political party. He had done a good job of reorganizing and directing the institution. He had remained in the city during the most difficult time— during the Bolshevik occupation. It was not right to dismiss him because of someone else’s whim. Then the old committee, seeing that they were getting nowhere with me, went to various government agencies to complain about Father Zienkiewicz. They were planning to boycott the institution, but have 323 1 Vincentas Ta kunas (1880-1967): Lithuanian priest; completed studies at the Vilnius Seminary, ordained 1904 after studied at the Theological Academy of St. Petersburg. After WW I he lived and worked in Vilnius; he was active in the religious and cultural life of the Lithuanian community and became well known as an educator and editor of religious publications.